Air filtering and cleaning device



Feb. l2 1924. 1,483,379

f w. M. REED AIR FILTERING AND CLEANING DEVICE Filed May 15. 1923 /5 4 vr at,

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Patented Feb. l2, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM M. REED, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, ASSIGNOR TO WILLIAM REED EN- GINEERING COMPANY, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, A. CORPORATION OF KENTUCKY.

AIB FILTERING AND CLEANING DEVICE.

Application and my 15, 1923. semi No. 639,164.

To all whom z't may concern.'

Be it known that I, WILLIAM M. REED, a citizen of t-he United States, residing in the ycity of Louisville, county of Jefferson, and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Air Filtering and Cleaning Devices; and I do hereby declare the followin to be a full, clear, and exact description o the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to air filtering and cleaning devices of the same general character as that disclosed' in Patent No. 1,416,381, dated May 16, 1922, and has for its object to provide a novel form of filter unit that may be assembled with like units in stacks or rows to form a battery of any desired capacity; to provide each unit with a fibrous filling mass, the individual fibers of which are covered with a solid, adherent, shell-like coating, enamel, the primary purpose of which is to maintain 'ihe fi'bers in their original distribution and arrangement as a loosely felted mass, prevent the matting down or caking together of the fibers, which would result in the formation of open pasageways in the filter mass through which the air would pass freely without being subjected to any cleansing or filtering action, and also to strengthen the individual fibers and minimize the liability of breakage and the entrainment of broken fibers in the air current delivered by the unit; and to provide each unit with a series of screens, mounted adjacent to and overlying the intake face thereof, to arrest and retain all fibrous or flocculent impurities in the air entering the unit, which would tend to lodge upon trite surface of the filter body proper and build up a matted obstructing layer which would materially reduce the filtering capacity of the unit.

,The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Flg. 1 is a front elevation. partly broken away, of a single filter unit with its supporting casing and associated screens.

ig. 2 1s an enlarged lateral sectional elevation.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary rear elevation.

Referring to the drawings, 1 indicates a casing. preferably made of sheet metal channel sections having lateral flanges 2 and 3 extending inwardly to form a box-like houspreferably of baked" ing for the individual filter units, the casing preferably being rectangular in form, with the joints between the channel sections formed by electric welds, so that a series of the frames ma be assembled 'in rows or stacks of any esired number. Secured to the flanges 3 of the casing is a series of posts 4, which are referably four in number, each having a rec uced outer section 4', one post being mounted on each side of the rectangle formed by the flanges 3, each having a tapered slot 13 formed in the body thereof adjacent the outer face of the flange 3.

Removably fitted within the casing 1 is a filter unit, comprising a rectangular frame 5 having an inwardly extendin marginal flange 6 upon its inner edge and!! a Han e 7 extendingboth inwardly and outwardly rom its outer edge, the latter fiange being provided with holes 11 adapted to receive the posts 4 on the casing and retain the frame of the filter unit in proper relation within the casing. Mounted on the inner faces of the flanges 6 and 7, within the frame 5, are forammous sheets 8 and 9, preferably of woven wire screen, of relatively wide mesh and heavy Wire strands to support and retain the filter mass proper 10, adapted to occupy and completely fill the entire space defined by the frame 5 and the confining screens 8 and 9. The filter mass 10 is preferably formed as a relatively loosely felted body of fibrous material, which, because of its character, is adapted to receive and retain a thorough impregnation of oil or similar viscous fluid, which will have the effect of entrapping and retaining all dust and other impurlties contained in the air passing through the filter mass. As was the case 1n the patent aforesaid, the preferred filtering medium 10 is in the form of steel wool, which is packed Within the frame 5, and, when im regnated with the oil or other viscous fluit, constitutes a most effective medium for separating all solid impurities from the air passing through the unit. It was found, however, that fibrous material, and more particularly, material formed of highly attenuated fibers, such as steel wool, is liable to mat. or cake together and open up free passages through the body of material through which the air will pass without undergoing any filtering or cleansing operauon and, furthermore, the individual fibers tend to break up into small fragments under continued usage of the apparatus, more particularly during the operation of cleaning the filter from time to time. To avoid these difficulties and to provide a filter mass which will retain its original form and shape and the disposition and arrangement of the individual fibers throughout the mass, the individual fibers are covered with a solid, adherent coating, which at once strengthens the fibers and retains the same in their fixed relation within the filter mass. 'This coating may, obviously, take various forms, but is preferably in the form of a hard setting enamel which may be applied either by dipping the filter body into a bath of enamel, or spraying the enamel onto the filter body, so as to thoroughly cover and coat all of the fibrous elements thereof, the enamel being fixed and set by baking' the same in a suitable oven, under varying degrees of temperature. according to the character and consistency of the enamel. The enamel not only thoroughly coats each fibrous element, but when baked thereon serves to lock the various fibrous elements firmly in position in the loosely felted mass of the filter body, and at the same time minimizes the tendency of the individual fibers to rupture under normal conditionsof usage The filter unit, comprising the frame 5, screen sections 8 and 9, and the enclosed filter mass of coated fibrous material, is secured within the casing 1 by means of tapered keys 14 driven into the slots 13 in the posts 4, the keys being secured by light chains 7, connected at one end to eyes in the keys and at the other end to the Vcross wires of the screen 9.

In employing filter units of the character indicated, the air to be filtered and cleansed frequently carries a relatively large proportion of fibrous or flocculent material which would tend to collect and mat upon the outer face of the screen 9, on the intake side of the lfilter unit and thereby materially obstruct the passage of air through the unit and reduce the capacity of the latter. ln order to avoid this contingency, each of the filter units is provided with a. series of preliminary screening elements, which will have the effect of arresting and retaining all such fibrous or liocculent material fioating in the entering air, and these preliminary screening elements are preferably constructed and applied in the manner illustrated in Figs. l and 2. As illustrated in Fig. 2. these preliminary screening elements comprise fora minous plates or frames mounted on the reduced'outer ends 4' of the posts 4 and spaced apart in parallel arrangement by Washers 18, and locked to the posts by nuts 19. These elements may be formed as perforated plates, as frames having Wires strung in vertical and horizontal relation, or, as particularly exemplified, as rectangular frames 17 having sheets of wire mesh fabric 16 secured in rial by brushingr or scraping the accumula-` tion therefrom without removing the screening elements.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the filter units per se, and the association ot' the units with the enclosed casing and the preliminary screening elcments, involves an exceptionally simple and effective device for thoroughly filtering and cleaning air for Various commercial purposes, and which admits of the device as a whole being readily freed from accumulating dust, dirt and other foreign material extracted from the air, by first removing the preliminary screening elements, then releasing the filter frames from their enclosing housing or casing and washing the foreign material that has accumulated in the filter mass by immersing the frame in gasolene, or other suitable cleansing medium, after the units have been thoroughly cleaned, again impregnating the filter masses thereof with oil or other viscous medium, and replacing the cleaned units in the battery, as will be understood. By coating the fibrous material with enamel or the like, which provides a relatively hard shell-like coatin for the individual fibers. the capacity ofI the filter mass to absorb or retain oil, or other viscous material. is not impaired but the enamel-like coating greatly facilitates the cleaning of' the filter mass after the same has been fouled by long continued use, because of the fact that the mixture ot foreign material with the oil or other adhesive may be readily washed from the smooth coated enameled surfaces and carried out of the filter mass.

What l claim is:

l. An air filtering and cleansing device comprising a frame. screens covering the faces of the frame. and a filter mass filling the frame between the screens comprising a body of loosely fclted fibers individually covered with a solid adherent shell-like coating.

2. An air filtering and cleansing device comprising a frame. screens covering the faces of the frame. and a filter mass filling the frame between the screens comprising a body of loosely felted fibers coated with enamel.

3. An air filtering and cleansing device comprising a frame, screens covering the faces of the frame, and a filter mass filling the frame between the screens comprising a body of steel wool, the individual fibers of which are covered with a solid adherent shell-like coating.

4. An air filtering and cleansing device comprising a frame, screens covering the faces of the frame, and a filter mass filling the frame between the screens com rising e body of steel wool, the individua fibers of which are coated with enamel.

5. A filter mass for air cleaners comprising a loosely felted body of fibers individually covered with a solid adherent slielllike coating.

6. A filter mass for air cleaners com rising a loosely felted body of fibers individually covered with enamel.

7. A filter mass for air cleaners compris ing a loosely felted body of steel wool. the individual fibers of which are covered with a solidadherent shell-like coating.

8. A filter mass for air cleaners comprising a loosel felted body of steel wool, the individual bers of which are coated with enamel.

9. An air filtering and cleansing device comprising a casing o n at front and back; a filter unit, removab y secured therein including a frame, screens covering the faces of the frame, and a body of individually enameled fibers filling the casing; and a series of screens removabl mounted on said casing and overlying sai unit on the intake side of the frame.

10. An air filtering and cleansing device comprising a casing open at front and back; a filter unit includln a frame and a fibrous filling mass removab y mounted in said casing; and a series of screens removably mounted on said casing spaced from and i overl ing said unit on the intake side of said rame.

l11. An air filtering and cleansing device comprising a casing open at front and back, having a series of posts on its front face; a filter unit including a frame containing a filling of fibrous material, said frame engaging said posts; and a series of screens mounted in spaced relation on said posts and overlying and spaced from the said unit on the intake side of said frame.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

WILLIAM M. REED.

DISCLAIMER.

1,483,379.Wilh'qm ill. Reed, Louisville, Ky. Am FILTERING AND CLEANING DE- vlcr., Patent, dated February 12, 1924. Disclaimer filed October 9, 1925, by the assignee, Reed :li/- Fz'iter ('wupmay.

Hereby enters this disclaimer to that part of 'the claim in said specification which is in the following Words, to wit:

10. An air filtering and cleaning device comprising n casing open at front and back; a filter unit including n, frame und a fibrous filling mass removably mounted in said casing; und a series of screens removably moun'led on said casing spaced from and overlying said unit. on thc intake side of said frame.

[Ojcz'al Gazette November J0, 1925.] 

